Learning agreements and work-based higher education

The goal of autonomous learning as preparation for being-in-the-world-of-change has clear advantages for both individuals and society. Tomkins and McGraw declare, rather inspirationally, that the challenge for academics is leading 'students to the wisdom of their own minds and setting them free on their own learning'. In this paper, the role of learning contracts in facilitating this change is investigated. Specifically, the paper discusses their use in the workplace in shifting relationships between student, teacher and university where the benefits for the three parties are; academic awards, successful degree supervision and accumulation of knowledge for practical purposes. The awards are professional awards at Master's and Doctorate level. The argument is that by engaging in workplace study, both student and academic institution risk becoming normalised by commerce. The analysis is based on the learning contract documents of four UK universities.